Bonnie seemed to be a bit awkward. She didn't know where to look, so she was just staring at her toes.
In fact, she was a totally different person in private from the innocent girl she portrayed in public.
Seeing Bonnie's embarrassment, Neil, either to spite me or out of genuine sympathy, wrapped his arm around her in front of us all, as if to silently support her.
“Neil!” Simmons' voice suddenly turned sour.
“Simmons, you're looking even more handsome than before!” I interrupted Simmons and hooked my arm into his.
Barbara, standing at the front of the elevator, kept hitting the close-door button. Under Neil's icy stare, the elevator door separated us.
Did he think I wouldn't be disgusted by his behavior?
Once the elevator door closed, I immediately let go of Simmons' arm, feeling a bit embarrassed, “Sorry, I just borrowed your arm.”
Iva chimed in, “No need to apologize. He probably loved it.”
Stella laughed. The two sisters exchanged glances, their eyes like saying something.
“Indeed, I didn’t mind at all.” Simmons' tone was half serious, half joking, “You can always count on me for this kind of thing.”
“Simmons, you're getting funnier.” I could only respond helplessly.
Simmons only smiled without saying a word. After the elevator door opened, we left the hotel and headed to a nearby karaoke club.
I vented all my frustrations through singing. Although I mainly studied instrumental music, my voice was pretty good, so my singing wasn’t bad.
Alicia said that she had brought her staff here for a gathering before and had a membership card for this place. She had also stored a couple of boxes of wine here. So she asked the waiter to fetch a box.
“Come on, Rena, you and Simmons sing this one!” Stella suddenly shoved the microphone into Simmons' hand, and then said to me.
I glanced at name of the song on the screen: Marry You.
“Uh… okay.” I had a bit of alcohol and didn’t care much about anything anymore.
Halfway through the song, I noticed Stella was answering my phone. I couldn't hear what she said. She said a few words and then hung up.
Unlike my casual attitude, Simmons' singing was full of emotion. He'd glance at me occasionally, his eyes full of passion.
I had to pretend I didn’t notice.
When the song finally ended, Stella handed my phone back to me and whispered into my ear, “Neil just called. I answered and told him you were busy singing a love song with my brother, so you couldn’t answer the phone.”
I was speechless. She really knew how to stir things up when I was trying to relax.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, Neil called again. I didn't know what to say to him, so I just hung up.
For some peace, I turned off my phone and continued to enjoy singing until midnight when I finally headed home a bit tipsy.
Bailey helped me into the living room before leaving. I was feeling a bit dizzy and weak. I struggled to climb the stairs. As soon as I opened the bedroom door, the smell of smoke made me cough.
The balcony door was open. The cold wind blew into the room, bringing the cigarette smoke straight to my face. Neil was standing on the balcony, his back to the room.
"Why are you smoking in my room?" I walked over, opened the window, and asked somewhat irritably.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled